An opposing force (alternatively enemy force, abbreviated OPFOR) is a

military unit Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a natio ...

tasked with representing an enemy, usually for training purposes in

war game A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...

scenarios. The related concept of

aggressor squadron An aggressor squadron or adversary squadron (in the US Navy and USMC) is a squadron that is trained to act as an opposing force in military wargames. Aggressor squadrons use enemy tactics, techniques, and procedures to give a realistic simula ...

is used by some air forces. The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

maintains the

Fort Irwin National Training Center Fort Irwin National Training Center (Fort Irwin NTC) is a major training area for the United States military in the Mojave Desert in northern San Bernardino County, California. Fort Irwin is at an average elevation of . It is located northeast ...

with the

11th Armored Cavalry Regiment The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment ("Blackhorse Regiment") is a unit of the United States Army garrisoned at the Fort Irwin National Training Center in California. Although termed an armored cavalry regiment, it is being re-organized as a mult ...

serving in the OPFOR role.

Fort Polk Fort Polk is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, about 10 miles (15 km) east of Leesville and 30 miles (50 km) north of DeRidder in Beauregard Parish. It was named to honor Leonidas Polk, the firs ...

's Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) is another major training site typically reserved for light infantry units, and the OPFOR are the 1st of the 509th Airborne Infantry Regiment. The Army's Joint Maneuver Readiness Center (JMRC, at Hohenfels, Bavaria, Germany) has the 1st of the 4th Infantry Regiment as their OPFOR. Other major units include the

First United States Army First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army. It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Kore ...

which consists of 16 training brigades that often also serve as OPFOR. At a basic level, a unit might serve as an opposing force for a single scenario, differing from its 'opponents' only in the objectives it is given. However, major armies commonly maintain specialized groups trained to accurately replicate real-life enemies, to provide a more realistic experience for their training opponents. (To avoid the diplomatic ramifications of naming a real nation as a likely enemy, training scenarios often use fictionalized versions with different names but similar military characteristics to the expected real-world foes.)

Units

China

France

In the

French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

, a FORAD (, enemy force) is used to train the army, in both the (CENTAC, Combat Training Center) of

Mailly-le-Camp Mailly-le-Camp () is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France. History The town is mentioned as ''Mailliacus'' for the first time in 859 AD document. In 1902 a large military camp was built in its territory. On 3–4 May 194 ...

and in the (CENZUB, Urban Operations Training Centre). Declassed

AMX-30 The AMX-30 is a main battle tank designed by Ateliers de construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux (AMX, then GIAT) and first delivered to the French Army in August 1966. The first five tanks were issued to the 501st ''Régiment de Chars de Combat'' ...

tanks were used to simulate Soviet T-72s, until 2018.

Japan

United States

UH-1H disguised as Mi-24 Fort Irwin 1985

There are three major training centers that utilize home-based OPFOR units for the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

: * The

National Training Center Fort Irwin National Training Center (Fort Irwin NTC) is a major training area for the United States military in the Mojave Desert in northern San Bernardino County, California. Fort Irwin is at an average elevation of . It is located northeast o ...

or ''NTC'' at

Fort Irwin, California Fort Irwin National Training Center (Fort Irwin NTC) is a major training area for the United States military in the Mojave Desert in northern San Bernardino County, California. Fort Irwin is at an average elevation of . It is located northeast o ...

—home unit is the

(the ''Blackhorse'') * The Joint Readiness Training Center or ''JRTC'' at

Fort Polk, Louisiana Fort Polk is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, Vernon Parish, Louisiana, about 10 miles (15 km) east of Leesville, Louisiana, Leesville and 30 miles (50 km) north of DeRidder, Louisiana, DeRidder in ...

—home unit is the 1st Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment (the ''Geronimos'') * The Joint Multinational Readiness Center or ''JMRC'' (formerly known as the Combat Maneuver Training Center or CMTC) at Hohenfels, Germany—home unit is the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment (Separate) (the ''Warriors'') Various US military installations or major units have their own local versions of opposing force used for training exercises. The joint Australian–US military exercise "Crocodile '03" featured an Australian-led opposing force in which soldiers from a range of Australian units worked together with a

US Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

contingent. Several

state defense force In the United States, state defense forces are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state. ...

s have served as OPFOR units when training with the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

. The California State Military Reserve, the

Georgia State Defense Force The Georgia State Defense Force (GSDF, GASDF) is a professionally trained, volunteer component of the Georgia Department of Defense, serving in support of the national and state constitutions under direction of the governor and the adjutant gener ...

, and the

New York Guard The New York Guard (NYG) is the state defense force of New York State, also called The New York State Military Reserve. Originally called the New York State Militia it can trace its lineage back to the American Revolution and the War of 1812. T ...

have provided OPFOR services to their respective National Guard counterparts. In 2018, the Georgia State Defense Force established the OPFOR Battalion to assist National Guard Soldiers with pre-deployment training.

Ranks

;Officer ranks ;Other ranks

Gallery

File:CENZUB-FORAD.JPG, A sniper from the French CENZUB opposing force. The camouflage pattern is different from the other French patterns. File:U.S. Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment conduct a change of command ceremony for incoming commander Lt. Col. Barry Carlson and outgoing commander Lt. Col. Mitchell Watkins at Warrior Field 130702-A-WB953-454.jpg, 4th Infantry Regiment soldiers wearing United States Army opposing force uniform (

Battle Dress Uniform The Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) is a camouflaged combat uniform that was used by the United States Armed Forces as their standard combat uniform from the early 1980s to the mid-2000s. Since then, it has been replaced or supplanted in every br ...

in black with olive 'OPFOR' shoulder title) File:Operation force Surrogate Vehicle.jpg, An OSV replicating a Soviet BMP at NTC, Fort Irwin, CA File:MT-LB US Marines.jpg,

US Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...

using a former

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

MT-LB The MT-LB (russian: Многоцелевой Тягач Легкий Бронированный, translit=Mnogotselevoy tyagach legky bronirovanny, literally "multi-purpose towing vehicle light armored") is a Soviet multi-purpose, fully amphibi ...

vehicle as part of the OPFOR during an exercise File:OPFOR Training.JPG, OPFOR training in 2012 File:OPFOR Shirt GRN and Shoulder Boards GRN, BLK, RED.jpg, OPFOR rank insignia mimicking the Soviet style (used during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

)